Tens of thousands of students across the country have walked out of their classrooms to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement. From Chicago to D.C. to Palm Beach County, young people are leaving school grounds and marching into streets to stand with immigrant communities. The adults? They’re still debating whose side to take.
The walkouts escalated after federal agents killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and after ICE detained 5-year-old Liam Ramos in Minnesota, according to Waging Nonviolence. On January 30, a coordinated “National Shutdown” brought thousands into the streets in cities nationwide. The movement hasn’t slowed down since.
The Unions Stepped In
The National Education Association, the country’s largest teachers’ union, sent emails urging members to “Hold ICE Accountable and Prioritize Student, Community Safety,” according to NEA press releases. The American Federation of Teachers, led by president Randi Weingarten, went further. The AFT filed an emergency motion in Oregon federal court to block ICE from operating near schools and hospitals. Weingarten called schools “sacrosanct” and said ICE’s presence makes communities “less, not more, safe,” per AFT statements.
A new opinion piece in The Hill questions whether unions have gone too far, asking pointedly: “Who is running your city’s teachers union?” But that framing misses the bigger picture.
The Risks Are Real
This isn’t symbolic protest. A student was struck by a car during a walkout in Palm Beach County, Florida, suffering injuries that required medical attention. In Fremont, Nebraska, a student was hit by an SUV carrying a Trump campaign flag during a demonstration outside their high school. Hundreds of students have been suspended in Texas, Florida, and Oklahoma, according to The Hill. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to dock teachers’ pay for allowing walkouts. The message from some officials is clear: sit down and be quiet.
Why This Matters
Here’s what the “union overreach” critics keep missing. This is cross-racial solidarity in action. Black student organizations, including the Black Student Union at the University of Minnesota and Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, have joined these coalitions, Waging Nonviolence reports. In Chicago, hundreds of CPS students walked out with signs reading “We are fed up,” as Block Club Chicago documented. NEA and AFT instructed members to wear blue in solidarity with the anti-ICE movement. This isn’t one community’s fight. It’s a coalition that crosses race, geography, and generation.
Hip-hop has always understood this. From Public Enemy calling out state violence to Kendrick Lamar demanding accountability, the culture has never separated Black liberation from the broader fight against institutional overreach. When ICE detains a 5-year-old or raids a neighborhood, that’s the same system that over-polices Black and Brown communities. These students get that, even if some politicians don’t.
The Takeaway
The debate isn’t whether teachers’ unions are “too political.” Every institution is political. The real question is simpler: when young people stand up for their communities, do the adults show up or shut it down? Pay attention to who answers that question and how. It tells you everything you need to know about whose side they’re really on.
